Groundwater war pits Wis. farms against fish

New law prevents challenges of high capacity well permits

1:17 AM,
Jul. 21, 2013

Written by

Kate Prengaman
| Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

Long Lake has lost its shoreline. Dock after dock dead-ends in the weeds. This small lake in the Central Sands of Wisconsin looks more like an unmowed lawn with a pond in the middle than a place where families used to water ski and fish. The lake used to be up to 12 feet deep. Now it is closer to 3 feet.

"Long Lake was once a trophy bass lake. So when we moved here, in the first two years, my boys were catching bass like crazy," said Brian Wolf, who owns a cabin on Long Lake. "It was like catching fish in a barrel as the water declined."

In 2006, the lake dried up completely and all the fish, including 3-foot-long ...